Letter to Editor: Morristown councilwoman asks Governor to extend diet to guns

Ed. note: The opinions here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the views of this publication.

Diets Save Lives

There’s been plenty of speculation about Governor Christie’s choice to have gastric band surgery.  Come on, he’s a father of young children — he deserves as many healthy years as possible with his kids.

In that same spirit, Governor Christie could ask the NJ Senate President to put gun magazines on a diet.

Ten bullets per magazine should be ample.  It took the horror of the Sandy Hook School shooting for Connecticut to change its laws. Maryland and New York have followed suit.

Fewer bullets mean more chances to stop someone from taking lives.  What is New Jersey waiting for?

Rebecca Feldman

Morristown Councilwoman (IND)
Co-founder, Morris Area Committee to Reduce Gun Violence

Morris anti-gun violence group racing to send signatures to Trenton for 10-round limit

The Morris Area Committee to Reduce Gun Violence is racing to send a message to state Senators this week urging them to follow the Assembly’s lead by passing legislation to reduce the maximum number of bullets per magazine from 15 to 10.

“The State Senate needs to hear from all of us, again, or this life-saving change may not happen,” Morristown Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman, a co-founder of the committee, said via email on Sunday.

A statewide petition drive by 10 organizations seeks to gather 10,000 signatures by mid-week. As of Sunday night, 584 names had been collected electronically.

Smaller magazines mean more reloading–and more chances for potential victims to flee or overpower a shooter, according to these scenarios from Rebecca:

Newtown, CT (2012):  Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people and wounded 1 other at Sandy Hook Elementary School with several 30-round magazines – he left 10-round magazines at home.  At one point there was a break in the shooting when Lanza’s rifle either jammed or he stopped to reload and during that time 6 children were able to escape.  If Lanza been forced to reload more frequently, perhaps other young 5- and 6-year olds would have been able to escape as well.  We must put their lives ahead of the desires of those who want to make shooting as easy and effortless as possible.  Connecticut has just now adopted a 10-bullet magazine limit.

Tucson, AZ (2011):  Jared Loughner shot and killed 6 people and wounded 13 others at an event for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords with a 33-round magazine.  Loughner was tackled and stopped while trying to reload another magazine.  It was the 13th bullet that killed 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green.  Had Jared Loughner been forced to reload after 10 rounds, Christina might still be alive today.

Knoxville, TN (2008):  Jim D. Adkisson shot and killed 2 people and wounded 6 others at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church.  Adkisson was tackled and stopped while trying to reload.

Garden City, NY (1993):  Colin Ferguson shot and killed 6 people and wounded 19 others on a Long Island Railroad train.  Ferguson used multiple 15-round magazines.  Ferguson was tackled and stopped by passengers while trying to reload for a second time.  One witness also reported that he was able to run to the next car when Ferguson stopped to reload the first time.    Had the shooter been using 10-round magazines instead of 15-round magazines he would have shot 10 fewer bullets before being stopped.  Instead of having fired 30 bullets, he would have fired 20 bullets; that is 5 rounds less than the number of people that were killed or wounded in the attack.

A ban on high-capacity magazines is an effective policy.

The 1994 Federal Assault Weapons Ban which reduced the number of bullets in magazines to 10-rounds was an effective policy.  Over time shooters used their previously-owned magazines and then were unable to replace them.  In Virginia alone, by 2004 the number of high-capacity magazines used in crime fell to 10 percent but when the ban expired, their use doubled to 22 percent.  With CT, NY and MD now all going to 10-bullet magazine limits, NJ should follow suit and not risk being an exporter of higher-capacity magazines to these nearby States.

Empty shoes in Morristown mark Newtown anniversary

Sixty-eight empty pairs of shoes.

For 68 victims of gun violence.

The Morris Area Committee to Reduce Gun Violence marked Sunday’s four-month anniversary of the Newtown, CT, massacre with shoes, symbolizing every New Jersey resident killed by guns since the shootings in Connecticut.

Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman, co-founder of the committee, organized the Morristown event in cooperation with Moms Demand Action, the Million Moms March and Cease-Fire New Jersey.  Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty also came out to show his support.

Rebecca called the memorial a “call to action” for state and federal legislators to enact “common-sense” gun laws.

Our thanks to Morristown First Lady Mary Dougherty for these photos.

Video: Newtown comes to Morristown for the ‘Sandy Hook Promise’

A roomful of Morristown residents made “The Sandy Hook Promise” on Saturday, pledging to press for change to honor the memories of 26 children and staff members gunned down at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, three months ago.

A co-author of the promise, Rob Cox of Newtown, told the gathering at the Presbyterian Church in Morristown that legislation alone won’t prevent gun violence. Our best hope, he said, is a “holistic approach” that includes common-sense laws and gun safety practices, stronger mental health programs and community outreach for those in distress.

Rob told the audience that he is not anti-gun; he owns shotguns.  The Rev. Cindy Alloway of the Presbyterian Church said she grew up in farm country where guns were part of her life, too.  She lamented a mental health system that failed her brother, a Vietnam veteran who used a gun to take his own life.

Suzie DeYoung of Newtown said outsiders keep telling her neighbors they can’t imagine the horror of Sandy Hook.

“Yes you can,” she says in this video. Only by envisioning the horror of placing your kids on a school bus, never to see them again, can you confront the issues that must be addressed, she said.

The event was organized by the Morris Area Committee to Reduce Gun Violence, co-founded by Pam Hasegawa and Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman.

They were joined by Mayor Tim Dougherty, Council President Michelle Dupree Harris and state Sen. Barbara Buono in making the Sandy Hook Promise.

The morning included a sweet rendition by local high school students of  My Beautiful Town, an anthem written by a Newtown resident after the massacre, and a moving version of  You’ll Never Walk Alone by Morristown resident John Hammell, whose son was shot and paralyzed trying to break up an altercation.

“This means a lot,” John told the packed room.

The next morning, cyclists from Newtown passed through Morristown en route to Washington DC, where they plan to press Congress for tougher gun laws.

MORE COVERAGE:

VIDEO: ‘Team 26′ rolls through Morristown en route to DC with gun control message

VIDEO: ‘My Beautiful Town’ sung in Morristown to honor Newtown victims

Video: ‘Team 26′ rolls through Morristown en route from Newtown to DC, with gun control message

“Team 26,” which is scheduled to arrive in Washington DC today, March 12, cycled through Morristown on Sunday on its four-day journey from Newtown, CT.

Three months after 26 children and teachers were shot dead at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, the bikers plan to take their demand for tougher gun laws to Congress.

In this video, Monte Frank of Newtown explains that his neighbors don’t want their town known as the place that “didn’t do anything” after the unspeakable tragedy of Dec. 14, 2012.

Morristown Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman, a co-founder of the Morris Area Committee to Reduce Gun Violence, invited the cyclists to loop the historic Green.

Mayor Tim Dougherty and Councilwoman Toshiba Foster were among the welcoming group that came out on the frosty morning.

A day earlier, three Newtown residents addressed a gathering at the Presbyterian Church in Morristown to urge support for “common-sense” measures to prevent gun violence. Stay tuned for more video from that event.  Here is a clip of local high school girls singing My Beautiful Town on Saturday.

MORE COVERAGE:

VIDEO: Newtown comes to Morristown for the ‘Sandy Hook Promise’

VIDEO: ‘My Beautiful Town’ sung in Morristown to honor Newtown victims

Video: Calls from pulpit to join Valentine’s protest against gun violence, Feb. 14 in Morristown

Church and state came together on Sunday with appeals for public support of a Valentine’s Day rally and memorial vigil in Morristown to protest gun violence.

“My prayer on Feb. 14 is that we’ll show some real love, and it won’t be one race, or one this or one that, but we’ll come together and remember the senseless violence [against] every child,” preached Pastor Sidney Williams Jr. of Bethel A.M.E. Church.

The pastor recounted a predominantly black Morristown rally condemning the Florida shooting of Trayvon Martin, and a largely white service mourning the suicide of Morristown High School freshman Lennon Baldwin.

“Death has no race on it. Every mother hurts. Every parent hurts. Every grandparent hurts when a child’s life is taken,” said Pastor Williams, who invited Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman to address the congregation.

The councilwoman co-founded the Morris Area Committee to Reduce Gun Violence, and helped organize the Feb. 14, 2013, rally and candle-light vigil to mark the two-month anniversary of the Newtown, Conn., massacre of schoolchildren and teachers. The committee wants stricter gun controls.

“We hope hundreds will join us at 5 o’clock on the Morristown Green for a rally to call for reductions to gun violence, and also a vigil in memory of all children lost to gun violence,” Rebecca said.

Later in the service the councilwoman collected donations to the committee with Nancy Bangiola, a committee member who also serves as president of the Morris School District board of education and the Morristown & Township Library board.

Berit Ollestad, a MorristownGreen.com contributor who received a church award for her volunteer work, spoke movingly of a charity mission to Brazilian slum, where it took considerable persuasion to coax a child to give up a hand-made fake gun in exchange for a toy.

“It’s so sad, because they really don’t have any opportunities. And they see these 16- and 17-year olds with semi-automatics, and they have jewelry and cell phones… it’s really come full circle,” Berit said.

The Rev. Cynthia Black, rector of Morristown’s Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, followed with a powerful sermon to the joint service.

“Oh, I know. I’m on dangerous ground here, talking about something so political in church. Well I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing on the news that another human being has died…another child of God has died, because we haven’t realized that we regulate cold medicine better than we do guns,” the rector said.

She also recounted the fury of her father, a proud World War II veteran, upon learning that another parent had let her fire a semi-automatic handgun at a private shooting range during a childhood slumber party.

“Guns have only one purpose,” he said. “They kill.”

Here is the full text of Rev. Black’s sermon:

“Remove Our Fear”

A sermon by the Rev. Cynthia L. Black, D.D. The Last Sunday after Epiphany: The Feast of Richard Allen & Absalom Jones. Luke 9: 28 – 43a, Feb. 10, 2013. Bethel A.M.E. Church, Morristown, New Jersey

Heal me, hands of Jesus,
And search out all my pain
Restore my hope
Remove my fear
And bring me peace again.

I don’t know what it is about that song that I love so much, but it touches me deeply… somewhere in my heart. It was a tune that I couldn’t get out of my head when I was in pain and experiencing great fear a couple of years ago after an accident. I sang it over and over again, to calm myself.

I’ve been thinking a lot about gun violence recently… particularly the lives destroyed by it…and wondering why, as a nation, we find ourselves in a place where it is easier to buy a handgun than to register to vote. I’ve been thinking about why it’s easier to buy an assault rifle than to get a driver’s license. I’ve been thinking about why it’s easier to buy a shotgun than to access mental health services. Does any of that make sense?

Oh, I know. I’m on dangerous ground here, talking about something so political in church. Well I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing on the news that another human being has died…another child of God has died, because we haven’t realized that we regulate cold medicine better than we do guns. Do you know how many people—men, women and children, have died as a result of gun violence since the tragedy in Newtown, not quite two months ago? When I started working on this sermon, earlier in the week, I went to slate.com’s website that is tracking gun deaths. From Friday to yesterday, it went from 1633 to 1686.

Heal me, hands of Jesus,
And search out all my pain
Restore my hope
Remove my fear
And bring me peace again.

When I was in the sixth grade I went to my friend Lorraine’s house for a sleepover birthday party. She was turning 12. What I remember of it is that it took place in her family’s rec room in their basement, and that the games we played were a little unusual for pre-teen girls. After a tour of the family fallout shelter (yes, you heard me), we began not “pin the tail on the donkey”, but target practice with some of her father’s handguns.

In addition to a ping pong table and dart board, there was an indoor shooting range in the rec room, and Lorraine’s father taught us how to load handguns, take aim at the paper targets, and fire. What I remember is that I and one other girl were so good at it that Lorraine’s father let us have a special treat– with a few words of instruction, we got to do target practice with one of his semiautomatic weapons. Afterwards, we had cake and ice cream, told ghost stories, and talked late into the night about our crushes on David Cassidy and Michael Jackson, I’m sure.

The next day after I got home I told my parents about the party, proudly relating the part about how I was so good that I got to use the Glock pistol (or whatever it would have been in 1971).

I can honestly say that I have never seen my father as angry as he was that day. To help you understand—my dad was a Republican and a proud WWII army veteran, who was known for always flying an American flag—he was a real patriot. When he got done on the phone with my friend’s father and his ideas about party games for kids, he sat me down for a long talk. He made it clear that he was not angry with me. But he also told me something that was conveyed with such conviction, such absolute certainty, that there was no doubt in my mind how he felt about it.

“Guns have only one purpose,” he said. “They kill.”

There was something about that conversation with my father that I’ve never forgotten. Oh sure, there was the part about guns, with which I don’t disagree, but it was more than that. I heard in my father’s voice something that I can only describe now as moral certainty. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, how he felt about killing, and the destructive force of guns. And he was able to convey that to me in an absolute, clear and convincing way. For him, on that subject (more so than any other I had seen before in my 12 years, or I ever saw again in the 30 subsequent years that he was alive), it was black and white. Guns kill.

Heal me, hands of Jesus,
And search out all my pain
Restore my hope
Remove my fear
And bring me peace again.

Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, we’re told in today’s gospel reading. He took James and John and Peter. And they talked about a lot of things. In fact, I think we can assume that it was because they had such a meaningful time together that Peter thought they might continue to hang out together. “Master, it is good for us to be here… let us build three booths.” I’m thinking that whatever happened up there on the mountain, Peter wanted to live in that moment forever. But that doesn’t happen, does it? That’s not how the story goes. As tempting as it might have been to capture that moment, to stay in that moment, Jesus doesn’t. He comes down off the mountain and heals.

When we think we’ve found something that works for us, it’s easy to make an idol out of it. It’s tempting to want to hold onto it and never let go. “We know that we are worshipping an idol when a created thing becomes more important than the Creator.”1

Guns, I believe, have become an idol in our country. Instead of putting our faith in the beauty and wonder and magnificence of the created order, we have put our faith in our fears. We have put our faith in guns to keep us safe. We have made guns god, and we are allowing our fears to overtake us. Simply put, we have misplaced our faith, just as Peter came close to doing on that mountain.

Heal me, hands of Jesus,
And search out all my pain
Restore my hope
Remove my fear
And bring me peace again.

Gun violence is a political issue, to be sure. But it’s a faith issue, too. The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, recently wrote: “The violence in our country, the violence around the world is most often an act in response to those who don’t have enough. Those who are hungry, those who ache for recognition and dignity, those who struggle for peace.”2 I would only add that violence is also often a result of fear—fear that we are going to lose something, that something is going to be taken away from us, fear of the “other”— those who are different, fear of scarcity, fear of a lack of security, fear of the unknown. Fear eats away at us and ultimately draws us away from God.

I’d like us to sing, one last time. But this time, I want us to recognize that we are all in this together. This isn’t about just me and my fears; this is about us and our fears.

Heal me, hands of Jesus,
And search out all my pain
Restore my hope
Remove my fear
And bring me peace again.

Are there easy answers about what to do about gun violence? Maybe. Maybe not. But I’m very clear that it is a faith issue. As long as we let our lives be ruled by fear we shut God out. And as long as we let the voice of fear speak louder than the voice of love, the voice of peace, nothing will change.

I love that song, “Heal me, hands of Jesus.” But I can’t stay wrapped in the coziness of the feeling it evokes for me. Just as Jesus came down off the mountain and got to work, we need to get to work.

Our world needs healing from a lot of things: healing from gross inequity, appalling poverty, and unfathomable greed. But our fear needs healing, too. May God search out all our pain, restore our hope, remove our fear and bring us peace again. And may we do what needs to be done to make this so.

1 From “Respect for a Father’s Grief,” by Valerie Elverton Dixon, at www.sojo.net.

2 Presiding Bishop’s Lent Message 2013, episcopaldigitalnetwork.com

Morristown committee plans grass-roots support for President’s gun control package; police chief urges ‘survival skills’

Countering the NRA’s powerful lobbying machine won’t be easy. But they seem compelled to try.

“Many of us feel that Newtown changed everything,” Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman said Thursday at the initial gathering of the Morristown Committee Against Gun Violence. “Like if that didn’t do it, what will?”

About 40 people came to the Morristown & Township Library to brainstorm about how to prod area legislators to support President Obama’s proposed gun control measures, in the aftermath of last month’s massacre of 26 children and teachers at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT.

For two hours, residents of Morristown and Morris Township debated how to crystallize their message, garner attention and get in the faces of lawmakers. They even kicked around snappier names for their fledgling group, which was pulled together with online tools from MoveOn.org.  Similar meetings were convened across the country.

Participants in Morristown heard a recorded message from the mother of a victim of the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre, imploring them to press for a ban on assault weapons and more stringent background checks for gun purchasers.

POLICE CHIEF: LEARN TO FLEE

Weapons bans won’t be enough, however. Not according to Morristown Police Chief Pete Demnitz, who has been studying mass shootings since the 1999 Columbine High School massacre in Colorado.

People must hone their survival skills, he told the group. That means knowing all the exits, sizing up the threat, and considering your options.

“Ninety-nine percent of the time, it should be: Flee,” said the police chief.

Please click icon below for captions

He estimated that 40 percent of town residents own licensed guns. Yet he was incredulous that gun owners–unlike motorists–are not required to take any training or tests. They simply must pass a background check.

The Chief endorses assigning “resource officers” to schools, praising an officer he assigned to Morristown High School in September as someone students trust. But he acknowledged it’s costly to staff every school with police.

President Obama’s proposals include incentives for schools to hire such officers, along with requests for Congress to fund programs for training school officials to respond to active shootings, and to prepare emergency response plans at schools.

Survival training for kids should become a priority of the local committee, said Pastor Sidney Williams Jr. of Morristown’s Bethel A.M.E. Church.

“In inner cities, kids know what to do when they hear shots ringing,” the minister said. “In communities like this, you don’t expect it, you don’t think about it.”

MOM: ‘LIKE THE HOLOCAUST’

Nancy Bangiola, president of the Morris School District board and the library board, agreed to help with future organizing efforts. She was acting both as a concerned mom, and a school board member, she said.

“I can’t not be involved. I have a sense of how to mobilize people, and a sense that people want to make a statement and effect change,” Nancy said. She added that she knows every principal and teacher in the district, “and I know the lengths they would go to to protect children in their care. We just need to bring some rational voices to this, and good things will happen.”

Strong emotions filled the room.

Morristown resident Art Klein, still shaken by Newtown, stood up and declared: “Every time this happens, I cry. I don’t want to cry anymore. I’ve had it.”

“It can never happen again. Like the Holocaust, enough is enough,” said Dorothy Ann Frank, a mother of two.

ORGANIZER: ‘KIDS ARE GETTING KILLED’

Newtown “felt like the last straw” to Pam Hasegawa, who co-organized the Morristown event with Rebecca Feldman.

“This isn’t going to get fixed by people moaning and groaning about the issues and all the parenthetical stuff. It’s about taking action to prevent more gun violence. It’s got to be a strong, mobilized, galvanized voice,” she said.

Over the years, Pam has lobbied for the rights of adopted to children to learn about their birth parents, pressed for more field trips for town school kids, and promoted sustainable farming in Asia and Africa.

Rebecca Feldman told the gathering that she hoped the movement would “build a network of thousands and thousands” of people swiftly, before the Newtown horror recedes from the public consciousness.

“This is really about political action. It’s all about votes. It’s totally grassroots,” she said

Rebecca knows something about that; she has pushed to get playgrounds built, deny raises to a prior mayor and pass a referendum for an anti-pay-to-play law. All of that seems secondary now, she said.

“When Newtown happened, I thought, what the hell have I been doing for 10 years? Kids are getting killed.”

Video: Morristown Council okays CVS for Speedwell Avenue and Spring Street

The vote was almost unanimous on Thursday. But it was a big “almost.”

Here is video of Morristown Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman stating her opposition to a CVS pharmacy championed by Mayor Tim Dougherty.  The Mayor’s rebuttal follows, along with the 6-1 council vote in his favor.

The pharmacy is proposed for the corner of Spring Street and Speedwell Avenue, as part of the town’s Speedwell Avenue redevelopment.

Rebecca’s primary concern is a two-way roadway that CVS wants to run between its front door and the sidewalk. The councilwoman said there has not been sufficient study of the potential hazard to pedestrians. The Mayor said such issues can be reviewed by the planning board; overall, he contends the project is a much-needed shot in the arm for the neighborhood.

 

Looks like stormy weather…dramatic Morristown photo

Things got pretty dark and scary for awhile on Thursday night, as thunderstorms raced through Morristown. Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman captured this dramatic photo from Trader Joe’s in Florham Park, looking towards Morristown.

More t-storms are possible Friday night and throughout the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.

Declaration of Independents: Rebecca Feldman wins second term in Morristown

Morristown Councilwoman Rebecca Feldman easily won a second term representing the First Ward, as an Independent.

She defeated Republican challenger Jenny Peters, a write-in during the primary, by a margin of 492 to 99.  A Democrat, Chris Kehrli, bowed out for health reasons.

“This shows that voters in Morristown are able to look beyond [political] parties to elect a person who reflects their concerns and their interests and accomplishes what they need done without always being told what to do,” said Rebecca.

The councilwoman said her first term felt like two terms: One during the administration of former Mayor Donald Cresitello, the other serving with Mayor Tim Dougherty, a Democrat who supported her candidacy.

In the first go-round, Rebecca cited things that didn’t happen as proud accomplishments: A massive development near the First Baptist Church, a 10-story firehouse, a huge public works facility. She expressed satisfaction about opposing those projects.

She also backed a pay-to-play ordinance setting limits on campaign contributions by municipal contractors.

During the present administration, Rebecca cited her efforts to reduce the town budget by supporting outsourcing of trash pickups and police dispatching, among other items.

Next up: A push to redevelop Elm and Morris streets, beautify the Route 287 ramps to Morristown, and continue streamlining town government, Rebecca said.

READ MORE ABOUT THE MORRISTOWN COUNCIL RACE

MORRIS COUNTY ELECTION TOTALS

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